that of Bourke in the west of New South Wales. As regards 

 the Northern Territory as a whole, it has a coast line of 

 1,200 miles, yet is without agriculture after 40 years of 

 partial occupation, its rainfall being 60 inches in the wet 

 season from October to March. 



Central Australia and its Climate.— Again there is the 

 much decried Eremian, or solitary desert region in Central 

 Australia, explored by the W. A. Horn expedition in 1894, 

 an area some 1,600 miles long by a width of 800 miles, 

 with an average rainfall of but 5 to 12 inches 1 per annum, 

 similar in extent to that of the Coolgardie goldfields, with 

 frequent periods of drought ; yet in the neighbourhood of 

 the MacDonnell Ranges, rising to an altitude of nearly 

 5,000 feet above sea level, the rapidity of vegetable growth 

 is stated as being almost marvellous, following upon tropical 

 rains, leading to inundation of the surrounding country by 

 reason of the immense volumes of water rushing down from 

 the hills. 2 Another recent feature is that of the striking 

 of underground water at Eyre on the proposed trans- Aus- 

 tralian railway route, regarding which Sir John Forrest 

 has expressed the opinion that this discovery of sub-artesian 

 supplies adds a province of 15 million acres of limestone 

 country to West Australia. Australia, be it remembered 

 in this connection, is to-day as near England in point of 

 time as Land's End was to John O'Groat's a century ago. 

 Long after the middle of the eighteenth century communi- 

 cation between London and Glasgow was maintained by 

 stage coach, which travelled once a month and accomplished 

 the journey in twelve or fourteen days. During the winter, 

 travelling was often impossible. 



South African Racial Difficulties.-Nowadays Austra- 

 lians cannot forget that Queensland alone is half as large 



1 Contrast this for instance with the rainfall of Papua, where at Port 

 Moresby it averages between 1<50 and 170 inches per annum. 



